Dreams
by merlinandfreyaFTW
Summary: Arthur can see people's dreams! Now he's wondering why Merlin's always dreaming about revealing his magic. There's a funny reveal, a tragic reveal, a song reveal, and more! But Arthur has one question. When will Merlin finally tell him?
1. Dreams

**a/n I wasn't planning on starting multi-chapter stories until I had been on fanfiction for at least a year, but this story came to me. Please review :)**

**DISCLAIMER: …I….I DON'T OWN MERLIN! *sobs uncontrollably***

**Beta-ed by: Christina B**

**Chapter 1**

Merlin's heart sped up whilst he watched Morgana's eyes flash gold. As he felt her magic sweep through the air, finding its target and hitting him square on the chest, he only had one thought on his mind.

_Arthur! _His mind shouted what his mouth couldn't, for he had a lump in his throat the size of a warthog(one of Gaius' sayings). Morgana smirked, which was something she had gotten very good at over time, and she wrapped her conspicuous purple cloak around her face, disappearing with a puff of smoke in a cliché magician-like fashion. Arthur was on the ground with his eyes closed. Merlin started wondering how exactly he was going to heal Arthur with all the knights around. Not that he was going to be thanked for healing him**.** And having to muck out the stables when he got back made Merlin wonder if it would be wiser to just put Arthur on a horse and heal him when they got back. That way Merlin could hide away in a nice, quiet corner without worrying about how the prince's dirty underwear needed washing, or how Gaius had given him leech tank duty.

But much to Merlin's disbelief, his prattish destiny looked completely unharmed. Arthur opened his eyes, dazed. From the ground, he could a cluster of knights and his idiot manservant looking down at him with concern. The horses were also staring at him, but with resentment that he was prolonging their journey, as they wanted to go home as quickly as possible. Oh that reminded him; Merlin had to muck out the stables.

"What are you all looking at?" he said groggily. Percival helped him to his feet, and Arthur had to pretend his arm didn't ache afterwards. There were cries of "Arthur!", and he was confused as to why they were staring at him like he was a ghost.

"Arthur! You're not dead!" Merlin exclaimed. Arthur sighed exasperatedly.

"Yes Merlin, I can see that. Now why are you all fussing over me like a pack of old nannies?" he asked gruffly.

"We thought you were injured, sire. Morgana looked like she had put a spell on you" Leon explained, solemn at the fact that the prince was almost hurt. Arthur looked at the only competent-in his eyes- knight of the round table other than himself, making sure that Leon wasn't playing a joke on him. He would have felt it, surely, if his evil smirking half-sister had put a spell on him. The prince felt perfectly normal. Trying not to appear disturbed, he looked at his knights and replied

"Well, I'm not. Now are we going to stand here all day, or do you want to get back to Camelot before dawn?" The knights looked shocked at his sudden change in demeanor. Merlin, however, grinned and hopped onto his horse. He knew that Arthur was simply trying to look like he was in control of himself, not wanting to appear weak in front his fellow knights. Everyone else did the same.

**_Break_**

As they were heading into Camelot, Gwaine looked carefully at Arthur. "You alright, princess?"

Arthur chose not to focus on Gwaine's nickname for him. He was trying not to fall of his horse, as that wouldn't look very dignified of a prince.

"I told you already, I'm fine!" he snapped, not looking fine at all.

"Are you _sure _you're okay, Arthur?" Leon asked after a while.

"Look, you're my knights, not my babysitters! Come on, Merlin" He said, jumping off his horse and walking briskly to the castle, Merlin tripping after him, carrying what looked like half of Arthur's possessions on his back.

The knights all exchanged a look.

"Gaius told me he had gone to visit and old lady friend of his." Elyan told his friends, waggling his eyebrows "I think, in the meanwhile, Leon should tend to Arthur". For some reason, Elyan had a mischievous glint in his eye as he said the last part.**  
**

"Me? I'm not a physician!" Leon disagreed.

"Yeah, but women are meant to be good at healing" Percival, who was in on the secret, joined in.

Leon was suddenly suspicious. what had his fellow knights done this time? _Oh please, please let them not have put horse dung in all my socks again_ he silently prayed.**  
**

"Do I look like a woman to you?" Leon scoffed.

"No, but you _are_ the one who goes around wearing dresses!" Elyan blurted out, sniggering.

Leon flushed, embarrassed to the point of wanting to run himself through with his own sword. They knew! Gwen had promised she wouldn't tell anyone.

"H-how di-did you...?" Leon seemed incapable of words now that his darkest secret had been discovered

"Well, I _am_ Gwen's brother, after all_" _Elyan answered, smugly "and what kind of a brother doesn't know where his little sister hides her diaries?"

A few seconds after he said that, he became aware of the sudden silence surrounding him, and the fact that Gwaine was shaking with silent laughter.

Paling, he did a 180 on his horse and saw aforementioned little sister standing two feet away from him with metaphorical steam coming out of her ears.

"Er, hey Gwenny. How are you?" He said, hoping the use of his childhood nickname for her would make her remember he had been away for four years, and that killing him now wouldn't let them make up for lost time. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work.

"YOU-READ-MY-DIARY?" Gwen shrieked.

Elyan squeaked, narrowly avoiding the saucepan she had thrown at him by rolling off his horse, and running as she gave chase. By this point, the noble knights of Camelot were on the floor in hysterics, oblivious to the strange looks they were getting from the townspeople who they protected on a monthly basis from whatever/whoever was attacking Camelot (they had lost count) . When they had recovered, they went back to thinking about Arthur.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. It is Arthur, after all" Lancelot said absentmindedly.

"Good. I say we celebrate his wellbeing with a trip to the tavern!" Gwaine smiled, thinking of all the ale that was waiting for him, seeming not to notice his friends groaning and rolling their eyes.

**_Break_**

Arthur dismissed Merlin, and rubbed the temples of his head. He really needed to see Gaius about that headache, but as it was time for bed (yes, even princes have curfews) he'd have to see him in the morning.

**_BREAK_**

Morgause smiled at her sister. Morgana had called Morgause to reveal her latest plan, and it seemed that Morgause' deviousness was rubbing off on her as she explained how she had tricked Arthur into coming with his knights, as well as that pesky servant to Cenred's kingdom .Halfway through the plan though, she was wondering about the state of her sister's mental health.

"You gave Arthur the ability to see other people's dreams? When you could have just killed him?" She inquired. Maybe all that smirking had done something to Morgana's brain.

"No! Sister, you don't understand!" Morgana said. "When he realizes he can see into people's dreams, he'll want to see what they're dreaming. Then, he'll look into his servants' mind, see he has magic, and then execute him! After that, the idiot servant won't be around to protect him. If I had just tried to kill him outright, Merlin would have healed him" she explained.

"His servant has magic?" Morgause looked absolutely dumbfounded.

Morgana rolled her eyes.

"Seriously? You didn't notice how he's around every time branches suddenly fall off of trees, or magic beasts are killed by Arthur's sword?" Morgana tried to sound condescending. In truth, she had only cross examined herself about how Arthur got saved every time about a week ago. Really, she thought, we Pendragons are an oblivious lot. She shook her head. _No_, she thought_. Not we Pendragons. Uther will never be my father, just like Arthur will never be my brother. Besides,_ she smirked, remembering an occurrence that resulted in a castle wall falling down a few years ago, _this will teach _him_ not to read my diary._ True, she had pushed him off of his horse first. But how was she supposed to know he would land in a cowpat?

**_BREAK_**

Arthur was dreaming, he was sure of that, but this wasn't his dream, if that sounds right. Future Kings dreamed of war, and beheadings, and treaties. They most certainly did not dream about herbs. They also did not dream about tending to the sick, as (though he would never tell anyone this) blood made him very queasy. And for some strange reason, everyone was calling him Gaius.

There was nothing for it then. This was Gaius' dream. And looking at other people's dreams could only be done by…superpowers. _COOL_! He thought._ I have superpowers! Merlin's going to be so jealous of me!_ He smirked, thinking about how the idiot would never dare to call him a clotpole again when he realized that Arthur could see his dreams. But, no, he couldn't tell him. Everyone knew that superpowers were meant to be kept secret.

There was also another reason he wanted to see people's dreams. He knew it was wrong to snoop, but he needed to see what people actually thought of him being King when Uther was dead. A wave of sadness rushed over him as he thought about his father, who used to be always strong. But he wasn't anymore. Morgana had broken him. He sighed, and went back to the matter at hand.

Arthur was thinking about how he could see into other people's dreams as well as Gaius'. He realized that he had been thinking about the physician before he had gone to bed. _Maybe_, he thought_, if I think of someone else, it'll show me their dreams_.

He thought of Gwen, and he saw her sewing a scarf and _he was helping her_. Of course, he had no problem with Guenivere dreaming of him, except for the fact that he was Prince Arthur, who had never picked up a needle in his life, and was sewing a scarf, which was not a manly thing to be doing. So he immediately stopped thinking about Gwen.

He thought about Percival, and saw his friend wrestling a boar, and winning. Arthur would have enjoyed this dream, but in it Percival was bleeding, and he very nearly fainted at all the blood surrounding him.

Next he thought about Lancelot, and he saw that his noble knight was on a picnic with Guinevere. Arthur gritted his teeth, reminding himself that he wasn't officially courting Guinevere, and also that he couldn't punch Lancelot in his dreams. I mean, it was more of a fantasy then a dream, really. Guinevere wouldn't court Lancelot. Would she? He forced himself to stop thinking about Lancelot.

Leon was dreaming about saving the Kingdom.

Gwaine was dreaming of alcohol (no surprise there).

Arthur sighed. What was the point of seeing people's dreams if they were all so boring? _Hmmm,_ he pondered, _what's Merlin dreaming about?_

**_BREAK_**

**A/N Oooh, what going to happen? Do you think I should continue this? I'll need people to review and tell me what they think. Suggestions would be welcomed and made use of, and I accept anon reviews. Please be brutally honest. Oh, and what genre do you think i should make this story?**


	2. The funny reveal

**A/n okay! This is Unbetaed, and i'll replace it soon. Just to let you guys know,the Arthur that Merlin's dreaming about will be called 'dream Arthur'. If you've read my oneshot, Payback, you can just call this 'the return of the bucket' DUN... DUN...DUN! xD carry on!**

**THE FUNNY REVEAL**

"Come on, Merlin! Put your back into it!" As Arthur surveyed his dream self shouting at his manservant, he concluded that (though he said so himself) he looked pretty good in armor. Especially next to dream Merlin, who looked as if he had just been beaten to a pulp by large angry griffons. Which meant that it was Arthur's favorite part of the day: training. Although it wasn't the actual training part that was so enjoyable; just the part when he could make fun of Merlin falling down again and again. Nowadays, Arthur was a lot nicer when it concerned training with Merlin. But on some days when Merlin made Arthur _really_ mad (e.g called him a prat/clot pole/dollop head, made fun of his feelings for Guinevere, told the knights embarrassing stories about him etc.) Arthur decided to be not so nice. It looked like it was one of those days. Both Arthur's found the sight of his (their?) bumbling manservant extremely hilarious, though for some reason dream Arthur couldn't see real Arthur.

_Huh, _thought Arthur, _must be part of the powers. _And with that, the outrageously oblivious prince continued to watch himself tormenting his manservant with amusment. Though... _Isn't he going a little too far? _Arthur thought as he watched dream Arthur kick Merlin after he fell to the ground.

"Right Merlin, since it seems that you're completely useless at training, you might as well go and make yourself useful by mucking out the stables!" dream Arthur bellowed over the training field over to where Merlin was spread on the ground, doing a rather good impression of a starfish.

"And while you're doing that, maybe you'll think about whether or not it's wise to tell the knights about all the various times my trousers have fell down after they ask about that one time at the meeting!"

_Wow, i like this guy_ Arthur thought as dream Arthur smirked after Merlin's retreating back. _Well, duh! He's you, idiot! Shut up, brain._

After a while, dream Arthur seemed to get bored of trainig. Then he got a strange sort of look on his face, one that the real Arthur knew all too well. Whenever he treated Merlin like he was an insignificant servant, Merlin got upset. Instead of showing he was upset, Merlin simply called the blonde a prat whilst hurrying out of the room covering his hurt expression. That was when Arthur got a sort of guilty look on his face, for he cared about his servant, though he would never admit it. Arthur knew exactly what dream Arthur was thinking, and he was thinking that he had been too hard on Merlin. _Maybe i can get my dream self to apologize to Merlin _real Athur thought. _Well, not _actually_ apologize, of course, but maybe say something to show that i'm sorry._

Arthur thought about how to do this. He knew from previous dreams that he could touch things, and tried to find a way to goad his dream self into following Merlin to the stables. Eventually, he settled for throwing rocks at Dream Arthur's head. It was rather funny, for dream Arthur had worked himself into a rage by the time he had reached the stables, looking around for the mysterious attacker. As they backed into the stables, Dream Arthur looked around, and took a step back, only to immediately get pelted with a stone. He stepped forward again, and relaized he wasn't being attacked, so he chalked it up to the fact that fate wasn't in a good mood today, and was going to force him to apologize. _Am i really that thick_? Real Arthur thought disdainfully.

"Fine" he grumbled, taking a deep breath as he headed into the stables, preparing to give a vague half-apology like all the other times he'd been forced to say sorry for his clotpole-like behaviour. The sight that greeted him was not pretty. Merlin was sitting on the floor, snoring, seemingly unaware of the horse dung floating in buckets around him in mid air.

"Merlin!" As he lifted his raven haired head from the pile of hay he was resting it on, Merlin opened his eyes sleepily, showing that he'd heard dream Arthur's cry. Real Arthur was completely baffled during all of this, of course. Why on earth would Merlin be dreaming of doing magic? Not unless...?

"You're doing magic!" Real Arthur groaned inwardly at dream Arthur's accusation. As if _that_ wasn't pointing out the obvious! He hoped he wouldn't act so lame in Merlin's next dream. He was definitively going to check out Merlin's next dream, to see if he was dreaming about doing magic again. Why? It wasn't as if if he was actually a sorcerer! That was utterly preposterous, and surely Merlin wouldn't have betrayed him like that? Even if Merlin had, he would have noticed! _Calm down,_ he ordered himself_. _He went back to looking at his dream self's shell shocked face. Merlin was now pouting, looking like a five year old that had just been told he was short.

"Well, _fine_! I'll stop. God, prats these days have no appreciation for good magic! Honestly!" Merlin muttered, scowling. His eyes flashed gold, and the buckets came crashing down. Suddenly Arthur's sight was obscured, and his world was brown.

"WHAT THE-" Dream Arthur was cut off by the bucket that landed on his head with a _sploosh_**!** Merlin's eyes were now wide, and he seemed as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry now that he'd realized what he'd done. Meanwhile, real Arthur had fallen over, and was lying, face down, in a full month's worth of horse manure...

-**END OF THE FUNNY REVEAL DREAM**-

The prince of Camelot lunged upwards in his bed, gasping. Somewhere, in a different part of Camelot, Gaius' ward (Merlin, wasn't it?) could be heard laughing hysterically. What on Earth was so funny?

**A/n i hope you guys liked it :) lol, Arthur had a total 'me' moment here with the whole 'shut up, brain' thing xD please review, i always reply, and thanks so much to all those who reviewed before! It means a lot to me :)**


	3. The lie

A/n** I would like to know what you guys think i should do for the next reveal. ideas would be nice. Also, thanks for all the story alerts, but would you mind dropping a review? Just writing 'good story' would make my day!**

_Well this is... unusual _thought Merlin, becoming uneasy whilst his master continued to look up at him as if he was a ghost. Outwardly though, he grinned.

"What, you're not throwing anything at me today? I think you're becoming soft Arthur!" he joked. He put down Arthur's breakfast on the tale, half turning to expertly catch the goblet that he knew would be thrown at him, much to the prince's annoyance.

"I wouldn't be so cocky if i were you, _Mer_lin" Arthur growled, getting out of bed and sitting on the chair at the table. He had woken up three times in the night to make sure there wasn't a trace of horse dung on him, and he was _not_ happy. And, as usual, Arthur would make sure that it would be Merlin who payed for his unhappiness.

"After all" he continued, miming throwing the apple on his plate at his manservant "You wouldn't want to be put in the stocks so early today, would you?" Needless to say, _that_ wiped the smile off of Merlin's face.

"Well, now that you mention it, spending the morning having free food thrown at me sounds way better than having to run around after your royal behind. Bring it on" Merlin was quick to reply, still trying to figure out what was wrong with the prince.

"Besides, I thought your favorite punishment for me was mucking out the stables" he noticed the way his friend winced after he said that sentence. _If only he knew about the dream I had last night _Merlin chuckled to himself. Then he shook his head. If Arthur did know about his dream, Merlin had no doubt that there would be awkward questions, days in the dungeons, and Arthur would look at him...exactly how he was looking at him now.

Arthur didn't look a bit put out over the fact that he had just been caught staring at his manservant, and instead got up and strode over to where Merlin was standing making his bed. He looked Merlin straight in the eye, making the warlock feel like one of the poor deer that they often hunted in the woods together. Well, Arthur hunted. Merlin just contributed by trying to make no noise (something he wasn't very good at).

"Merlin?" Arthur said slowly, appearing to seem almost nervous_. _The man who chased down and killed all kinds of dangerous beasts, magical and non magical alike, looked _nervous._ Of Merlin, no less!

"Yes Arthur?" Merlin replied, acting nonchalant about the whole thing.

"If you had something really important that you wanted to tell me, you know you could confide in me, right?" Arthur tried not to sound anxious for the answer to be 'yes'. He knew the reason why he was so nervous. It was because Merlin was truly the best friend he had ever had, the _only_ friend he had ever had. So different from the arrogant, pompous knights he was expected to and pretended to like. He had been exactly like them a few years ago, but Merlin had changed him, and for that he would be eternally grateful. Their entire read-between-the-lines friendship rested on the next few words that Merlin said.

Merlin didn't knowhow he was supposed to answer the next question. The dragon would be a major help right about now. _Where's that darn dragon when you need him anyway? _he thought frustatedly _Sitting around on his behind whilst he _should_ be giving me advice with his cryptic riddles and spouting guff about my 'destiny' with this clotpole? Honestly, sometimes I half believe he's gone senile already, and this is all for nothing..._

_"_Merlin?" Arthur interrupted Merlin's mind rant. Merlin gulped under the prince's intense gaze.

_"_Of course, Arthur" Merlin regretted the lie as soon as the words left his mouth.

The blonde visibly relaxed. "Good" he replied shortly, exhaling. He turned and marched out of the room. It looked like the moment of caring he had shown was over, and he was back to being the dollop head Merlin knew and tolerated. Merlin smirked. Maybe it would have been better to tell Arthur before he left that he was still in his nightclothes...

**_-BREAK-_**

_Stupid prat_ thought Merlin, sitting in one of the castle hallways with a piece of Arthur's armor. _As if it's _my _fault that he couldn't remember to change before he went to a court meeting. True, I _could _have reminded him, but where's the fun in that?_

After the episode with the meeting, Arthur had viciously thrown all of his armor at him, and had ordered it clean by tomorrow_! Yep, the dragon's defintely senile _Merlin sighed, and then groaned. How on Earth was he ever going to finish all of this lot in time? Then the young warlock smiled, and looked around cautiously. He didn't normally use magic for his chores, andnever before had he used it so openly but maybe it would be okay just this once...

Merlin sighed as the warm feeling of using his magic left him. He remembered what had happened that morning, and how he'd once again been forced to lie through his teeth to one of the people who mattered most to him_._ He wished that he could let Arthur see the real him. He wished that he could finally stop living a lie. _It's not the right time yet _he silently repeated what he always did when situations like this came up. A small part of his mind spoke up, the one that he had tried to keep silent for so long. _When will it be? _the voice questioned _Will you have to hide your secret forever?_

Arthur turned around the corner just in time to see his servants eyes turn gold, It was all over in a few seconds, and Merlin's eyes changed back to their normal blue. The same blue eyes he had looked into that very morning...

Arthur heard a few whispered words of a language that he did not know, but had heard before from the mouths of other sorcerers. _Sorcerer. _

**_-END of chapter-_**

**_A/n Review pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease? *puppy dog eyes* More reviews=faster chapters!_**


	4. The servant and the master

A/n **Okay'; it's short, but will update soon! ****I promise there will be another reveal after this. Once again, thanks for all the lovely reviews! Also: A special thanks to readernurse as she looked over this chapter for me, and came up with the line "though Merlin was shocked, he continued on, thinking it was a joke"**

Arthur turned the corner and pressed his back into the wall, gripping the hilt of his sword for fear that he would charge at Merlin and put it to his throat, demanding answers. Answers to what? Could it have been an illusion on his part? Were his eyes playing tricks on him? _No _he answered himself_ Merlin's a sorcerer. _He closed his eyes as he felt the moisture in them, and tried to slow his heavy breathing. It would never do to let Merlin hear him now. What would the sorcerer do if he caught Arthur? Blow him to pieces, no doubt. That was what his father would always have had him believe. His father, who was slipping away from them day by day, _all because of magic._ How could Merlin _do_ this to him? This was the third person he had lost to the evil that was sorcery. First his mother, then Morgana, who he considered and who turned out to actually be his sister, and now the man who was his best friend. _Must be some kind of record or something_ he thought bitterly, as he felt the pain and grief start to consume him. Was this how Uther felt all the time? No wonder the man hated magic! All Arthur wanted to do was curl up into a ball, but he couldn't do that as Merlin might turn the corner any second now. Instead he turned and fled to his chambers, all the while gripping the hilt of his sword harder and harder.

**_-BREAK-_**

**"**Look what I've got for you!" Merlin smiled smugly as he walked in and tipped out the contents of his bag. All of Arthur's now spotless armor came crashing down on the table. Merlin was all prepared to gloat that he had gotten Arthur's punishment over with a day early, but the look on Arthur's face was enough to stop him in his tracks.

Instead of giving him a witty remark that showed hidden amusement, Arthur simply gave his manservant frosty silence in response to his cheerful greeting.

"Arthur?" Merlin gave the prince a quizzical look, his eyebrows knitting together.

"That's_ Sire_ to you, servant" Arthur spat, his voice oozing contempt. He looked positively murderous. Though Merlin was shocked, he continued on, thinking it was a joke.

"Yes, _Sire!_" Merlin saluted, laughing. He continued to laugh as he picked up all the pieces of Arthur's armor, expecting Arthur's face to break out into a grin any moment.

He had _not_ expected to be lifted up into the air by his arm, and swung round to face a now very angry prince.

"How _dare _you speak to me like that" Arthur hissed, eyes narrowed like a snake's "I am your prince and your master. I demand to be treated with respect!"

"Arthur...you're...hurting" Merlin gasped, face scrunched in pain. He was immediately dropped to the floor, and he put his hand on his arm to massage away the burning sensation his master had left there, though it did no good.

"Get out" the words were quiet and dangerous, and Arthur could not have sounded more intimidating if he'd shouted. He gave his servant one last look of utter disgust before turning away.

"Arthur-"

"GET OUT!" Arthur roared so loud that he shook the object in his room, and this time Merlin obliged, half running out of the room, still holding his arm.

As Arthur watched the one person who he cared about that was still there for him leave the room, it was as if the Merlin he knew had left him forever, now replaced by the image of the sorcerer with golden eyes. He felt himself slide on to the floor, finally breaking down.

**_END OF CHAPTER_**

**A/n Please review, or i'll have to drown my sorrows in ice cream :) I'll try and update tomorrow!**


	5. Plans and interruptions

**A/n this starts off serious, and then gets funnier. thanks to: kthln, and twilightfan052294 for reviewing :) **

The door to Merlin's room crashed open as the young warlock burst through it, landing with a thump on his bed. He sat there for a second and knuckled his eyes, determined not to cry. _He was not going to cry over that prat! _The prat that he'd sacrificed so much for. The prat he'd drunk poison for, followed on quests, whether he was or wasn't allowed to, and risked his life for over and over again. Didn't Arthur realize all that Merlin had done for him? Well this was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Or the servant's arm. Whichever. One way or another, tonight, Merlin would get his revenge.

He pored over his spell book, looking for all the possible ways he could get his comeuppance on Arthur. He was glad Gaius was out visiting his 'lady friend', for he was sure his mentor would be able to talk him out of his plan. _Ooh, that one!_ Merlin chose, sounding rather like a child picking sweets. The spell required the person to go to sleep, and then in their dream the person was to say the words very carefully, or else the revenge would backfire on him. This was very important, as whatever had happened to the person in the dream would happen to them in real life.

And so Merlin spent time practicing the spell. He was soon interrupted, though, and had to politely decline (and try very hard not to look terrified) when Percival knocked on the door, asking if he would like to have a friendly arm wrestle.

"But no one else will do it with me!" the knight moaned, crossing his arms. _I can see why!_ Merlin thought as he goggled at the man's bulging muscles, and very quickly shut the door.

"I thought you were meant to be the pushover" came a deep, grumbling voice on the other side of the door, quickly followed by thundering footsteps that could only be Percival's.

Just as Merlin thought he'd finally got some peace, Percival's footsteps were replaced with lighter ones. This time Merlin much less politely declined Gwaine's offer of the tavern. remembering the last time he'd agreed, and the earful he'd gotten off of Arthur when Gaius had told him that Merlin had spent the night at the tavern. And for once, the physician had not been lying. With the prince already very mad at him, he thought it wise to not have a huge hangover in the morning.

Soon it was time for bed, and Merlin was starting to have second thoughts. He soon pushed them away though, when he remembered Arthur's stone face, and the angry words that came out of his mouth that might as well have said 'you're just a servant'. Merlin no idea what form of revenge would take place when he uttered the spell in his dream, but for now he was just too hurt to care. The way Arthur had treated him, he just wanted to hurt the blonde. He just had to do something, _anything _to show that he wasn't a slave to destiny, that he could walk away anytime he wanted and that the _clotpole_ should be grateful that he was sticking around to save his royal butt. No sir, Merlin wasn't a slave to destiny. He was a _servant_.

Besides, if worse came to worst, he could always fix everything. That's what all mighty, powerful warlocks were for, right?

_Bed time _Merlin thought, feeling wicked _Sweet dreams, Arthur Pendragon._ Then he shuddered.

_I sound just like Morgana! __I'm even smirking! _Hastily turning his lips and giving his usual lopsided grin, Merlin went to bed.

-**End of chapter**-

**A/n I'll update tomorrow with the 'revenge' dream! Thank you so much for giving me FIVE reviews! Also, do you guys like longer, and once every two days or so chapters? Or shorter and once a day cahpters? **


	6. The revenge reveal

**A/n Thanks to: pheobestar and Daryl for reviewing. Hope you enjoy the chapter :) P.S i'm really sorry this was late, but my internet stopped working for a while.**

**The revenge reveal**

_Target spotted _Merlin thought gleefully as he found dream Arthur. Then he caught sight of himself next to dream Arthur.

_Target is currently hitting me with a stick. _Merlin took advantage of the fact that he couldn't be seen (it had said he couldn't in the book) by tripping Arthur up with his foot. Though the sight of Arthur falling and landing flat on his back made him laugh until _he_ fell to the ground-Merlin didn't even know people could _go_ that red-it still wasn't satisfactory revenge for Merlin.

And so Merlin set about doing what he'd came to do. He took the flower that the book had said to put somewhere on the intended reciever of the spell, and laced it into dream Arthur's hair, guessing that he wouldn't be able to feel it. After weaving the stem with the golden locks of the prince's hair, he stepped back, admiring his handiwork. If his dream self noticed that there was a purple flower in his master's hair, he didn't say anything. In fact, he looked slightly as if he was trying not to laugh, and Merlin couldn't help but feel proud.

Deciding that it was time, Merlin focused on using all of his energy to get it right. He took a deep breath and started casting the spell.

"_Ich bayn lewnfey kayn sef" _he closed his eyes as he felt the power of his magic welling up, collecting itself into a little ball inside of him.

"_Menthose len neber homos ban quif lithem!" _he finished, his eyes now wide open as he waited for the effects of the spell to take place. He was feeling very nervous. With all the interruptions yesterday, he hadn't had time to properly learn the spell, and was _sure_ he had gotten one or two words wrong.

"Merlin? What's happening to you?" as dream Arthur asked this, both Merlin's were shrinking and turning..._green_.

_Oh no_ Merlin thought in dismay. He noticed he now had a strange desire to eat flies, and was about five feet shorter than usual. And he hadn't even been that tall to begin with!

"You're a frog!" dream Arthur's cry drew the attention of several knights.

"Is there something wrong, Sire?" questioned Leon with a concerned look on his face.

"It's Merlin. He...He's turned into a frog!" Arthur looked shaken as he said the words. Leon groaned inwardly. He _knew _that sending Arthur on all those quests would do something to him! But did anyone listen to him? Nooo, let's just send the only prince and heir to the throne on the most dangerous missions possible. Honestly, it was a wonder that the prince was still alive. He must have a guardian angel of some kind. Well obviously, the angel needed to work harder, as it looked like Arthur had gone slightly crazy.

"Yes Sire, I'm sure he has. Now, why don't we pay a little visit to Gaius? I'm sure he can make it all better" And with this, Leon took dream Arthur by the arm, and marched off with him to Gaius' chamber's.

"B-But I saw him! He's a frog!" dream Arthur shouted, trying to turn back to look.

"Yes, yes, of course" said Sir Leon soothingly, in the way that you would talk to someone not quite mentally stable.

"Well, it looks like he's finally cracked!" said Elyan with a grin, twirling his sword on the ground.

"Maybe now he'll have an arm wrestle with me" Sir Percival replied hopefully.

"Doubt it" Gwaine butted in, quick to squash Percival's dream of breaking someone's hand.

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Percival scowled, rubbing his fist threateningly.

"Er-nothing!" Gwaine scattered, though he ran very slowly because his chainmail was so heavy.

Amongst all this, no one noticed Merlin and dream Merlin slipping (well, they were actually hopping) away. And no one noticed when Merlin spoke a few words in a croaky voice, and was suddenly gone from the dream altogether.

.

.

.

No one that is, except for Arthur-the _real_ Arthur-who was hiding in a tree, and had been watching the whole thing, with a look of utter horror on his face.

-**End of revenge! reveal-**

**A/n hehe, hope i left you on a cliffy. Anyways, i apologize again for this being so late. Please review?**


	7. Merlin's day off part 1

**A/n Please review! I'm guessing the reviews have gone down because the holidays are here. Props to whitecrossgirl for giving me the idea to create chaos :)**

**Merlin's day off**

_Well this is a fine mess I've got myself into. _Merlin started wondering how exactly he was going to get himself _out_ of said fine mess. Well, he decided that first order of buisness was-

_I'm_ _hungry_. His stomach growled, as if agreeing with the previous statment. _Well, _he decided_, a warlocks got to eat. Especially when he's been turned into a frog. By himself. _If Merlin could have facepalmed himself over last night's failure, he would have. As it was, he looked very miserable, and very funny as he jumped off of his bed and hopped across the room, scrambling through the gap beneath his door.

Maybe he could get to the kitchens, grab some comfort food, curl up into a ball in his chambers, and despair at how completely wrong his plan had gone. Just thinking about Arthur made him feel guilty, so the prince would have to look after himself for a day until Merlin figured out how to get back to normal. It was probably best that the spell had backfired on him anyway. At least it meant a day off of work! He hopped down the steps, ducking out of sight everytime someone walked towards him, and headed for the kitchens. Before he he had taken two froggy little steps, though, he heard a scream. And then there was chaos.

**_BREAK_**

"FROG!" he heard the shriek of the cook. Soon the shout was taken up by everyone as they scoured the room for the little green menace that was Merlin.

He weaved in and out of legs and shoes and bare (stinky) feet, he danced up and down the tables, hopping around the chair legs, getting hit by rolling pins and jars and -_ow!-_was that a _shoe?_

In the end, it was a very bruised little frog that was hiding in a pot of the cooks soup. _Finally! _Merlin thought triumphantly, rubbing his hands, getting ready to drink soup fit for a prince. And then a fly happened to wonder by.

_No! NO! _he commanded his tounge, which had whipped out of it's own accord and was mercilessly chasing the fly. But his tongue took no notice of him, and he was soon out of the pot and back across the kitchen floor, trying to keep up with it for fear that it would rip itself out.

Merlin's ran after his tongue, and before long he was out of the castle, across the training grounds, and went _smack _into a crate of tomatoes at the market place, his tongue aching. And it _still _wouldn't give up. Merlin had to admire his tongue's determination. He tried reasoning with it.

_Okay, I know I _look _like a frog right now, but I'm actually a human, though Arthur sometimes calls me an elephant because of my ears. Speaking of which, if he ever found out I had eaten a fly, he would never let it go, and there would be a_ lot_ of really bad puns. Now how about we go back and steal his breakfast? _His tongue seemed to waver at the possibility of getting an easier, much slower meal. _I know how _Merlin added conspirationally. Finally, his tongue seemed to agree, and let itself be tucked back into his mouth.

Later, Merlin couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for the substitute servant who had had to explain how he'd tripped over some sort of 'rock', and dropped the prince's breakfast. But it was still worth it to know that Arthur would have to go to training hungry, late, annoyed, and with no servant to take it out on.

**_END OF CH****APTER_**

**So... there will be a part two to this, from Arthur and later, Gaius' POV, and more chaos to come :) I just wanted to upload this now incase it wont be done today. review?**


	8. Merlin's day off part 2

** a/n my laptops back! Which means a lot more updates for you guys, so please review? Thanks to: TJT maria.**

**Merlin's day off Part 2**

Arthur was not having a good day. And the worst part was, he did not have an annoying, insolent, lazy servant to moan to about it. There wasn't even anyone to pummel in training! By the end of the day, Arthur might even have given Merlin the chance to explain about his treachery. If it were not for what had happened yesterday. He had seen Merlin was in his dream. This could only mean…

_That idiot's got superpowers as well! _Arthur concluded furiously. _That's _two _things he's been keeping from me! Maybe I can understand keeping magic a secret from me, but why superpowers?_

Arthur racked his brains. When he found the answer, it scared him. Superpowers were just about as close to magic as you could get. Sure, it wasn't evil, but it was still a supernatural ability that normal people didn't have. What if Uther was scared of superpowers too? If it was as close to sorcery as Arthur imagined it was, then…

_What would he do_? Arthur recalled all the times he had seen sorcerers that hadn't actually done anything get executed just for doing magic. He remembered people who had used it to heal be murdered for helping the sick. Slowly, a sick feeling that had not been there before arose in his stomach. Surely, not even _Uther_ would have his own son burned at the stake?

_Would he? _He wondered uncertainly. Arthur paused whilst taking off his socks (something he used to make Merlin do) and his eyes glazed over, lost in thought.

-**BREAK**-

Gaius was in one of the best moods he'd been in a long time. It was always lovely to see Alice. It made him feel like he was twenty years old instead of seventy (or eighty, he couldn't remember). He could feel his good mood rapidly disappearing, though, when he caught wind of the fact that there had been trouble in the castle. And where there was trouble, there was Merlin.

He stalked into his chambers, looking around for the young man he considered to be a son that always caused so much mischief. But all he found in his room was a frog. He shuddered at the grotesque little reptile, and quickly grabbed a broom, swiping at the green ball huddled on Merlin's bed.

"Get out, you little miscreant! Out!" Gaius yelled, whacking the frog over the head.

The frog rubbed its head, and Gaius could now see that he wasn't the only one who had hit it today. In fact, it looked quite battered, but it's eyes-strangely familiar-laughed.

"Glad you've seemed to mellow after your trip abroad, Gaius" the frog seemed completely at ease as it made a sarcastic remark in Merlin's voice.

"_Merlin!" _Gaius dropped the broom and gawked, shock spread all over his face. "You're a… frog!_"_

"Yes, yes I am" Merlin the frog spoke again, sounding quite annoyed. He crossed his little arms, looking huffy.

"Now why is everyone hitting me on my day off?" he demanded indignantly. Merlin was having one of the best days he'd ever had as a frog. Maybe he'd been forced to eat a few flies along the way, but that was for him to know, and for no one to _ever_ find out. On the whole, however, he had been rather enjoying his day off, and was starting to weigh up the pros and cons of staying a frog forever. But no; whilst lazing about all day was fun, (he couldn't remember doing that ever since he left Ealdor) he had a destiny to attend to. Besides, those flies weren't particularly his favourite snack.

Merlin chuckled at Gaius' expression. "It's all right, I've got the counter enchantment right here" He pointed to the words in the book.

"And what is the counter enchantment, Merlin?" Gaius tried to look the boy in the eyes when he asked, but he found it a little disconcerting, so he just stared up at the blank wall.

"Er, a kiss from the first woman you've ever kissed" If frogs could go red, this one did.

"And who _is _the first woman you've ever kissed, pray tell?" This time Gaius looked straight at him. Merlin the frog was now a pale shade of green, and he whispered croakily

"Gwen".

-**End of chapter****-**

**A/n review? I'm really excited, as I have over 20. As soon as I hit the big three-oh, you guys get a double chapter! Also, sauroura92 give me the idea for this, so thanks to her :)**


	9. Merlin's day off part 3

** a/n you guys are amazing SIX reviews! Keep this up, and you'll have that double chapter faster than you can say review Thanks to: kthnl and Daryl, and caribgirl. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story **

**Merlin's day off Part 3**

Gaius' eyes grew wide.

"Are you positive that's-_" _he began.

"Gaius, it says right here" Merlin answered mournfully, like someone who was already planning their funeral arrangements.

Gaius sighed resignedly "Well, it was nice knowing you Merlin" Gaius wasn't very sure he was kidding.

"You too, Gaius, but let's not scare ourselves any further" Merlin replied, jumping up onto the old man's shoulder. He was scared for his life, but he knew that this was one of those things which were best dealt with as soon as possible. "You know, if we can get to Gwen without being spotted by Arthur, the prat will never have to find out, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him" he whispered slyly.

He had no wish for Arthur to find out anything about this whole business, especially the fact that Merlin was now a frog. Gaius set off to go and find Gwen; Merlin still perched on his shoulders. When they found her, she was in her room, getting ready to go out somewhere.

"Hello Gaius. Is there something wrong?" she peered at the physician, who looked worn out, despite the fact that he had only been back from his holiday for an hour, as far as she'd been told by the other servants.

"I'm fine, Gwen, thank you for asking" Gaius answered, waving away her suggestions for a cup of tea. "It's Merlin who needs your help" And this time the old man had to smother a small laugh.

"Well, what does he need help with?" Gwen inquired, nervously twisting her fingers around her hair. Arthur was due to come in any minute now, but she didn't want to disappoint Gaius.

"Merlin is a frog" Gaius realized how ridiculous that sounded as soon as he said it.

"What? Oh, Gaius I really don't have time for any jokes today, I told Arthur I'd be ready in a minute!" Gwen's voice rose higher in octave as she grew agitated, putting on a shawl as she prepared to go out.

"He's going to be here in a minute? Quick, Merlin-"

But Gaius never got to finish his sentence, for at that very moment the doors came crashing open, and out of them stepped the blonde prince.

"Hello Guinevere!" he greeted. Then he saw the other two in the room. "Oh, and er, hello to you too Gaius. Where'd you get the frog from?"

"Ah, well you see Sire, Merlin has turned into a frog. And he needs a kiss from Gwen to undo the enchantments." Gaius said this very hastily, eager to get it over with, and speed up the inevitable temper tantrum the prince would throw.

Arthur stopped in his tracks. He looked very hard at Gaius to check if he was completely serious. Then his eyes narrowed, and he looked at the frog, which had very big, frightened eyes, that looked exactly like Merlin's.

"Well, I'm afraid you're sorely mistaken" he said in a hard voice. "Because if anyone's kissing Guinevere, it's going to be _me_" And that's exactly what he did.

And he continued kissing her.

Gaius cleared his throat. They continued kissing. Merlin was pretty sure he was blushing as he tried to interrupt. "Er, guys?"

Gwen giggled. Finally Merlin got more annoyed than embarrassed and spoke up.

"Gwen! Can you stop and help us for _one_ minute? _P__lease?_" Merlin didn't mean for it to be quite so loud, but it seemed to get Gwen's attention, because she finally broke away from the kiss with a huge smile on her face. She lifted her hand to her mouth and blew Merlin a kiss, Arthur glaring at him behind her, both of them a little out of breath.

After that, a sort of glow emanated from the green frog, and it hopped off of Gaius' shoulder as it grew taller, and all of its limbs stretched until they had reached their usual size. When the glow had stopped, there stood Merlin the human, looking a bit frazzled, but no one noticed except Gaius as Gwen and Arthur had promptly gone back to kissing.

Gaius raised his eyebrows, in a 'let's just leave them to it, shall we?' sort of way, and Merlin nodded, his head bent as a flush crept up his cheeks. As they walked back to their home, Gaius was called to cure a sick nobleman in the castle and Merlin was called to pick up Gwaine from the tavern. As they were walking away from each other in opposite directions, Merlin turned around.

"Gaius?" the old physician turned around to see his ward grinning in a way that could light up the whole lower town. "It's good to have you back. "

Gaius nodded slowly, and then smiled, lifting a hand as a goodbye gesture. "It's good to be back Merlin".

And so they went off again, Gaius to his gratifying and highly exasperating job, and Merlin to spend what was left of his day off helping Gwaine out of whatever mess he had gotten himself into.

**-End of Chapter-**

**A/n please review :) Any sort of feedback is lovely, and you guys have been really supportive so far, so thanks to you all! One more review until you get to 30, so do me a favor and hit that big blue button at the bottom?**


	10. The song reveal part 1

**A/n I'm sorry it's been a week, BUT i was waiting for 30 reviews. I didn't get them: / Also, this piece of work has only been changed a little bit by me, and it belongs to the fantabulous whitecrossgirl, and her equally fantabulous story A Very Merlin Musical. Go and check her out!**

Arthur had decided it was time for his nightly Merlin watch. He settled down into bed and made sure to hide his teddy (pugsy) when his father came in to bid him good night. Uther looked pale and sick. Arthur watched him leave the room, half sure he would collapse. _I can't believe was worried he would kill me. It's his death I should be worried about; not mine. Morgana did this. _Arthur thought savagely._ She will pay. Evil_ _sorcerer._

Yet if sorcerers' were so evil, why was Merlin tucked up in bed right about now, about to have some crazy dream, instead of in the cold dark dungeons beneath the castle? Why had Arthur allowed him to live a few more days than he would have if it had been anyone else? Maybe he would find that answer in tonight's dream.

**_The song reveal part 1_**

Arthur arrived to find himself in his own bedchambers. It didn't take long to find his dream self, who had a very laughable expression on his face, one of surprise.

"You have magic?" dream Arthur asked.

"Yep, I was born with it." dream Merlin replied casually. Arthur snorted. Even Merlin's dream self had more guts than him!

"How can you be born with magic?" dream Arthur asked and Merlin shrugged.

"Just was," Merlin replied. "You're taking this rather well." _Wait...born with magic? _And with this thought the clogs in Arthur's brain began to turn. If Merlin was _born _with magic, that made him a warlock, not a sorcerer! His father had never said anything about them! The young prince started to feel some hope of reviving their old friendship, the one he had abruptly ended the last time he had seen his servant.

"Because I don't believe it. You cannot have magic. You're…you're _Mer_lin!" dream Arthur replied in an incredulous tone. Arthur knew that the exact same thoughts were going through his dream self's head as the ones he had had himself when he'd found out. That this had to be a joke, some late April Fool's Day joke that Merlin cooked up and got everyone else in on. But Arthur couldn't deny it because he had seen it for himself, and soon so did dream Arthur. Dream Merlin looked at dream Arthur and without speaking conjured up a fireball in his hands. Dream Arthur jumped back in shock.

"Are you going to kill me?" dream Arthur asked. Dream Merlin cocked an eyebrow and laughed. Arthur rubbed his temples. _I'm getting mocked by _Merlin, _of all people. Pull yourself together, dream me!_

"If I wanted you dead I'd honestly have killed you years ago with all the chores you make me do." dream Merlin joked. _Huh__? _As if answering Arthur's thought (dream Arthur was still gaping) Merlin continued. "Not all magic is evil. Hmmm... now how do i explain this to someone with your level of intelligence?" Merlin pretended to sigh.

Jaunty, lively music filled the air, a kind neither Arthur had never heard before

"I guess I'll have to spell it out in song. Now, pay attention, dollop head!" and with that dream Merlin started to sing. Yes, _sing. _And not the annoying, out of tune Ealdor songs he annoyed Arthur with on hunts, but something that went a little bit like this:

"_Well Nimueh's magic maintained the balance between the living and dead_

_Morgana's evil magic messed with our heads_

_But Arthur you're in luck 'cause all along_

_You've got a source of magic which never fails_

_You've got a dragon lord in your corner now_

_Some heavy ammunition in your camp_

_You got some punch, pizzazz, yahoo and how_

_See all you gotta do is say the word_

_And I'll say: Prince Arthur, sir_

_What will your pleasure be?_

_Let me take your order, Jot it down_

_You ain't never had a friend like me!" _Dream Merlin claimed; jumping up and singing. As he sung dream Merlin began casting spells, making various objects fly around and tidy themselves up. Dream Merlin cancelled the spell and turned to the dumbstruck dream Arthur. It was hard to know which shocked him more; the fact Merlin had magic or the fact that he could sing! But Arthur had other things to be dumbstruck about. Dragon lord? Merlin (dream or not) couldn't be a dragon lord. All the dragon lords were dead, and so were the dragons. He would know, he'd slaughtered the last one himself! Hadn't he?

_"Life is full of magic_

_And I've the most powerful in the world_

_C'mon whisper what it is you want_

_You ain't never had a friend like me!" _dream Merlin insisted and broke off singing to grab some parchment and a quill; ready to take down any orders dream Arthur had. All in jest, of course! After he got over seeing himself being made fun of by his cheeky manservant, Arthur pondered his words. _Is he really the most powerful warlock in all the world? The person I used for target practice just a few days ago? _

Dream Merlin continued

_"Yes sir, I pride myself on service_

_To Druids I'm the boss_

_The king, Emrys_

_Say what you wish_

_It's yours! True dish _

_Let me show you how!" _dream Merlin claimed. As he mentioned the Druids; he finally got a reaction out of dream Arthur; and Arthur had the same one. Merlin was King of the Druids? Out of everything he had said so far that seemed the most insane. Yet for all Arthur knew Merlin really was this Emrys bloke; whoever he was. The King...

_"Have some of column "A"_

_Try all of column "B"_

_I'm in the mood to help you dude_

_You ain't never had a friend like me!" _dream Merlin sang as he did create two columns in the middle of the room; one consisted of various foods and the other of gold and fabulous jewels. Dream Arthur gawped at them but then Merlin's eyes flashed gold and they vanished. _Tease _Arthur thought half frustrated and half amused, as he watched his dream self dive into the middle of the room, and shook his head.

_"Can your friends do this?"_ Merlin asked as he rose into the air.

"_Do your friends do that?"_ Merlin asked as he easily levitated Arthur's desk without touching it.

"_Do your friends pull this out their little hat?"_ Merlin quizzed as he produced a bunny rabbit from nowhere and set it on the bed.

"_Can your friends go, poof?" _dream Merlin insisted as he turned himself invisible.

_"Over here! Can your friends go, Abracadabra, let 'er rip_

_And then make themselves disappear?"_As he yelled 'disappear' dream Merlin made himself reappear directly behind dream Arthur causing him to jump and yell. Dream Merlin laughed as dream Arthur stumbled back into a chair and dream Merlin continued singing.

_"So doncha sit there slack jawed, buggy eyed-_

_I'm here to answer all your midnight prayers_

_You got me bona fide, certified_

_You got a sorcerer to deal with your affairs_

_I got a powerful urge to help you out_

_So what's your wish? I really wanna know_

_You got a list that's three miles long, no doubt_

_Well, all you gotta do is say the word and I'll go_

_King Arthur, sir, have a spell or two or three_

_I'm on the job, you big clot pole_

_You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend_

_You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend_

_You ain't never... had... a... frieeeeend liiiike MEEEEEEE!"_ dream Merlin claimed as he made everything fly around once more as he kept a long high note at the end. With another flash of gold; everything righted itself. The objects returned to their normal place and he sat down in front of the shell-shocked dream Arthur and grinned at him.

"_You ain't never had a friend like me!"_ dream Merlin claimed and waved a hand in front of dream Arthur. "Arthur are you alright?"

Dream Arthur attempted to speak but it seemed that dream Merlin's revelation had rendered the prince completely and utterly speechless for the first time in his life. Dream Merlin got up; picked up the conjured bunny rabbit and walked out of the room where Gwen and Gwaine were waiting.

"How'd he take it?" dream Gwen asked as Merlin handed her the bunny and she stroked it's fluffy fur.

"Hard to say; I don't know if the song helped." dream Merlin replied.

"Well for what it's worth; you can hit a decent high note." dream Gwaine shrugged and the three of them wandered down the corridor debating a name for the bunny. They decided to call it fluffy.

As dream Arthur flopped down onto the bed in exhaustion, the real Arthur stood in his own doorway, thoughts chasing each other around his head whilst he watched them.

_Dragon lord...Most powerful magic in the world...the King of the druids...Emrys._

_**_END OF PART ONE_**_

_**A/n Part two will be up as soon as i get past 30 reviews, I promise! I just couldn't resist naming the bunny fluffy xD Please review :)**_


	11. The song reveal part 2

**AN: please review? Also, once again, this belongs to the amazing _whitecrossgirl _and her brilliant story _A Very Merlin Musical_. Hers and a few other stories inspired me to make this! I only own the first paragraph, and i've changed it a little bit. The rest is _all _her_. _Thanks to you all SO MUCH for reviewing so fast! Those were the most I've ever gotten! Cookies for all of you! and thanks to: Martha, because i couldn't reply to you.**

**_the song reveal part 2_**

They knew they were losing the battle, but they kept on fighting, because that's what knights of Camelot do. And Merlin fought Morgana's goons with them, using his magic each time he thought his friends' backs were turned. Except...that one time when he had turned his head, and saw Arthur looking at him with betrayal written all over his face. Before he had time to gather his thoughts, he was hit on the head and knocked out.

When he woke up, Merlin was standing alone in the middle of the courtyard in the castle. He was surrounded by the knights, and Arthur and Gwen stood on the balcony staring down at him. Arthur was glaring at Merlin; his eyes were cold and there was no sign of any other emotions aside from rage and hatred. Beside him Gwen was simply staring. Her normally kind eyes were hard and there was nothing in her demeanour which suggested they were ever friends. Not one of the knights; not Elyan or Leon or Percival or Gwaine were looking to help Merlin. Their faces all had the same cold hard glare as they regarded the man they had once thought to be a friend, a brother; who in reality was nothing more than a traitor. Not one of them dared to speak. Merlin fingered the scar-a half moon shape on his cheek-that Arthur had left with his sword.

"What's going on?" he broke the silence, looking at his friends with a pleading expression on his face.

"You are charged with the crime of sorcery and have been found guilty. The penalty of which is death." Arthur shouted, his voice clear and calm as he sentenced his ex-friend to die.

"No!" Merlin yelled but what could he do? He knew this day was coming. Arthur seemed to look right through him. That was what Merlin could not bare. Hate, betrayal and disgust? Bring it on. Anything but this new cold and cruel prince, the one that looked so much like his father, and less like the caring man that he had helped build. He sagged in defeat and looked up at the prince.

"Why, Arthur? Why?" he asked, his tone sad and tired.

"Why? You dare ask why?" Arthur's voice was now coloured with contempt and disbelief. That voice made Merlin stand straight again. He looked Arthur straight in the eyes and answered.

"Yes. I do" defiance was dominant over sadness now, and anyone could see that Merlin wasn't going to go down easily, be it a foe's or a friend's hand that made him go down.

"Well you see, _Mer_lin" Arthur sneered, and at that moment, Merlin hated him. "It's because of your..."

"_Deception_

_ Disgrace _

_Evil as plain as the scar on your face."_Arthur sang.

_"Deception,"_ Elyan added.

"_An outrage!"_Leon claimed.

_"Disgrace."_ Percival insisted.

"_For shame!"_ Gwaine spat. _"You know these sorcerer types!" _Merlin _had _been his best friend, but Camelot had changed Gwaine's views on magic, and he was just as disgusted as the rest of them.

_"He's been nothing trouble from the moment he came."_Leon added. It was true; all Merlin did was slow them down on quests and hunts. "We always had to help him, and what did the traitor give us for it?"

_"Deception,"_ Elyan answered.

"_An outrage!" _Gwen chimed in.

_"Now you'll leave us alone."_Arthur added and gestured to the knights who made to grab Merlin. Merlin however blasted them back with a single look from his eyes.

_"Disgrace."_ Percival spat as he got to his feet.

"_For shame!"_Gwaine claimed.

_"Traitor, now you'll re-join your own!" _Arthur insisted. _"Take him away!"_

_"He asked for trouble the moment he came."_ The knights chorused as they grabbed Merlin. Merlin tried to free himself and looked at Gwen; the only one who was yet to speak. Gwen had to see reason, she had to understand. She was his closest friend; surely she couldn't let him die like this!

"Gwen please! You can't let Arthur kill me!" Merlin pleaded. Gwen however looked at him and shook her crowned head before turning to Arthur. Merlin had betrayed them, lied to them for so long; yet somewhere in the back of her mind some vestiges of loyalty remained.

"Arthur; there is another way." Gwen stated.

"What is that?" Arthur asked.

"Banishment." Gwen replied. "I don't think this was _all_ his fault. For he was..."

_"Born in grief _

_Raised in hate _

_Helpless to defy his fate _

_Let him run _

_Let him live _

_But do not forget _

_What we cannot forgive."_

"I cannot do that Guinevere." Arthur stated.

_"He is not one of us _

_He has never been one of us _

_He is not part of us _

_Not our kind." _

Gwen nodded and she and the knights remembered how they had made the mistake of trusting the wrong person so many times before. Morgana, Agravaine; their experience with such treachery made them more decisive and stronger in enforcing their rules and laws. Merlin had magic. Therefore Merlin was evil and if they let him live and leave Camelot; he could return with a powerful army and try to destroy them. They could not risk that happening. None of them wished to do it; but it was the only way.

"_All those sorcerers'__ that lied to us _

_Have made us not so blind _

_For we know he will do what they've done _

_And we know that he'll never be one of us." _Gwen and the knights chorused.

"He is not one of us." Gwen admitted and nodded at the knights. The knights led Merlin into the castle and into the dungeons to await his fate. None of them said a word to him, none of them looked at him.

On the pyre, Merlin looked at all the faces of his closest friends as the flames licked greedily at him. Only Gaius' showed anthing except satisfaction.

_"Deception, Disgrace,"_

"Merlin…"

"_Deception, Disgrace,"_

"Merlin…"

"_Deception."_

"MERLIN!" A hand shook his shoulder and Merlin jerked awake. Awake; it was only a dream; a horrible nightmare. Merlin looked at Gaius who was standing over him looking worried.

"Are you alright?" Gaius asked. Merlin sat up and looked around. He was in his room in Camelot; not the dungeon and he certainly wasn't facing certain death; at least not yet anyway. Merlin took a deep breath and nodded at Gaius.

"I'm fine; just a nightmare." Merlin claimed. Gaius left him and Merlin fell back onto his pillows and blew out deeply. He repeated that to himself; it was only a nightmare, none of the others knew his secret yet. He just had to make sure it stayed that way.

**A/n I loved all of your reviews, so could i have some more? Special thanks to Lordstarlight for reviewing twice!**


	12. Forgiveness and wisdom

A/n Please review! thanks to: twilightfan052294, since you don't have an account. Also, just in case you guys don't read my A/N's this'll be in caps lock: **HOW OFTEN SHOULD I UPDATE?...**i'm done :)

_DREAMS CHAPTER 12_

Arthur shook his head as he sat up in his bed. Merlin needed to find out that he knew. The man was _singing _about revealing himself, for God's sake! Then, almost as if by magic-_haha _thought Arthur, laughing at his own (not very funny) pun-the warlock in question popped his head round the slightly ajar door, looking nervous as he found his master exactly where he expected him to be: in bed. For Arthur had lain down again as soon as he had seen a tuft of raven coloured hair peeking out through the gap from his not fully closed door, whilst Merlin had deliberated on whether or not he should knock. The reason for this was simply because Arthur was curious as to what the newly discovered sorcerer-_warlock_, he reminded himself, trying to keep an open mind about the whole situation-would do when he saw the blond lying defenceless in his bed.

The prince waited for the moment when the loud, annoyingly cheerful voice would come ringing through his chambers, and for the blinding sunlight to hit him with full force. But that moment did not come. Instead there came a pause; a cough, and then a painfully shy voice, a high contrast to his usual morning wake up.

"Excuse me sire, it's time to wake up" the picture of a perfect servant, Merlin let the 'Sire' pretend to rise from his bed. Normally, he didn't do the whole walking-around-on-eggshells charade that most of the other servants kept up, but he thought it was best not to annoy Arthur today. There was an awkward silence as the both of them remembered the last time they had met, in Gwen's home.

"I'll just-uh-open the curtains then, shall I?" Merlin played with his hands as he tried not to look the prince directly in the eyes. Arthur regarded him carefully, waiting until Merlin turned away, and then grabbed the goblet on the table near his bed, throwing it with full force at his manservant.

"Ow! You...you _dollophead!"_ Merlin screeched, rubbing the back of his head. Smirking in satisfaction as he watched the goblet land on the floor with a '_ping!', _Arthur welcomed the name calling that he had known would happen; for it was much preferable than the previous awkward silence.

_"_Oh, it's _you_. I was wondering why this new decent servant looked exactly like my old one!" Arthur climbed out of bed, noticing and fighting the urge to chuckle at the other man's shell-shocked expression. Instead he threw him a look that said he was a complete moron, and held out his arms.

"Come on then! You're not green and small anymore, so i'm assuming you're capable of doing your work. What are you waiting for?" Arthur's retorical question jolted Merlin into action; gritting his teeth, the servant helped Arthur get ready. He still didn't say anything to him though; and Arthur sighed, knowing now that it would take nothing less than another lame 'sorry' to make his servant forgive him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, glancing at Merlin, who was at his side helping him into his jacket.

"What? Nothing." Merlin insisted, not wanting to talk to the prince yet. Maybe it would just be better to give up this job, go back home and live a quiet life as a farmer.

_How much do farmers get paid exactly? _he wondered idly, moving away from Arthur and checking that he had gotten everything right. Heaven forbid the prince go outside without a shirt on again; the prat was mad enough at him as it was.

"Doesn't seem like nothing to me. Look, if it's about yesterday, I'm _sorry, _alright?" Arthur said the last part hastily, eager to get it over with.

"Yes because, you know, sorry fixes _everything, _doesn't it _Sire_?" Merlin replied tartly, not bothering to act like nothing was wrong anymore. Something _was _wrong, and it was time Arthur knew it.

"I know it doesn't, but it's the best I can do. Plus, that was two days ago, and holding on to grudges is really bad for you. I mean; look what it did to Morgana" Arthur was half serious. He didn't want Merlin to turn on him. Magic or no magic, they'd been through a lot together.

"Except I'm not a sorcerer" the warlock pointed out, confused at the strange look that twisted his master's face after he said that.

"No...you're not. Just as well, we wouldn't want to have you in the dungeons now, would we?" Arthur joked. "Not when you have to clean my socks, anyway."

Merlin's smile was almost painful as he wondered wether or not to forgive Arthur. The prince might be a prat, but sometimes (not very often) he told Merlin that he didn't know whether he was wise or an idiot. What the blond also didn't know was that he himself at times showed some wisdom. Just a different sort of wisdom; a _kingly _sort of wisdom. For example, the times when the prince knew he was in the wrong, and managed to apologize, albeit not very goodly, to a mere servant were some of the times that he showed that wisdom, the one his father clearly was too proud to have; the wisdom of a Once and Future King.

In the face of that new found knowledge that Arthur could actually be wise, Merlin couldn't stop himself from saying it.

"Yes, i forgive you"

However, Arthur, looking very relieved he had gotten that over with, ruined the wisdom by talking.

"Good. So...how the heck did you manage to turn into a frog, anyway?"

Shaking his head, Merlin set down the prince's breakfast, and left the room. Of course, the question of how he would get revenge still remained, but when he noticed a fly fly down the corridor (he still got a funny feeling around flies) he thought it best to choose a simpler way to carry out his revenge.

And that is why, six hours later, when Arthur smiled and turned away from Guenivere, who he was saying goodnight to, started to _bray_. Hearing the maid laugh, he turned around and gave her a look. Apologizing, she made her way to her home, Arthur watching her and knowing she had seen him blush. Furious, he walked back to his own room. The last time he'd brayed, there had been magic involved, and Arthur was pretty sure it was involved this time to. He was also _very s_ure that he knew who the culprit was.

**-END of chapter-**

**A/n Uh-oh! Please review. I'm almost up to 50! Also, sorry if this wasn't very funny, I just wanted to get Merlin to forgive Arthur before I did anything else. Hehe; i LOVE using Arthur's dumbness to cover up my own plot holes; like how Arthur never said anything last chapter when Gaius sad Merlin was a frog!**


	13. Guilt

**A/n 50 reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Also:SLIGHT spoilers for 3x08 "The Eye of the Phoenix". Readernurse was number 50! Ironic; as she was the first to ever even review this story, i think.**

**_DREAMS CHAPTER 13_**

It was another normal day in Camelot. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and prince Arthur's servant was whining. The citizens of Camelot had placed their bets on whether or not it was a hunting trip, chores, or just that he had a hangover (they knew how much time he spent in the tavern).

"But Arthur, I thought we agreed that you didn't need to hold my hand on hunting trips anymore" he could be heard moaning as he stumbled after the prince, bleary eyed as always because of how early he had to wake up.

"Um, hello? Have you forgotten that episode with the Fisher King? Seems to me like you're the one wanting to hold my hand, not the other way round" came the reply, though it was whispered as no one else was supposed to know that Arthur had had a little (ok, a lot of) help from Merlin, and Gwaine on his quest to the perilous lands.

"That wasn't holding your hand, that was _saving_ you" Merlin retorted, fuming at the obvious ungratefulness shown by his friend. "Don't know why I bothered. The world could definitely do without your dollop-headedness"

Arthur smirked. As childish as it seemed, he was glad that he'd managed to annoy Merlin.

"Yes, and that is exactly why we need you on this trip. So that you can 'save' me. Like the useful way that you hid behind a tree last week!" he exclaimed, feigning awe at Merlin's bravery. Then his grin faltered. What if Merlin _had _saved him before, using magic? Was that how he had saved him on his second day in Camelot?

As they rode on, Arthur wondered whether or not he should be nervous to be alone with Merlin. Probably not; if Merlin wanted to have killed him, he would have killed him already. Why wait four years? The prince never felt any danger with the raven haired boy beside him. He just felt _safe. _As if as long as one of them was with the other, they would both be alright, no matter what life threw at them. Griffins;dragons;love potions, you name it, they had faced it. The other knights were his friends too, of course, but Merlin had been there through everything, and yet...Merlin had remained unscathed, even when he charged onto the battle field with no armour, unflinchingly loyal. And Arthur had honestly just believed it was dumb luck.

_I'm even more of an idiot than Merlin! _Arthur thought, despairing over the fact that he'd been outwitted by his fool of a servant. The fool who would put his own life in danger to rescue someone's who he hated; who he thought was an ass, a prat, a clotpole, and a dollophead. Looking back on how he had treated, mistrusted, and judged his best friend without giving him a chance to explain, Arthur felt inclined to agree with him.

He also felt something else...guilt.

Merlin had to know.

**-END of chapter-**

**A/n Please review :) I'm sorry this was short, but i'll update tomorrow or on Wednesday, i swear!**


	14. The tragic reveal

**IMPORTANT: real Arthur will not be in this one, BUT he will have seen it as shown in the next chapter, just wanted to clear up any confusion that there may be. In the dream, dream Arthur will just be referred to as Arthur. same for Merlin. Also; Arthur's a King in this dream.**

**-TRAGIC REVEAL-**

Arthur gave his incredibly idiotic manservant a disbelieving look and shouted over to where he was.

"Merlin, you idiot! We're being attacked! Will you _stop_ roaring strange words at the sky?"

As he expected, he was taken no notice of. Merlin continued roaring with all the force he could manage, and then eventually the winds changed. All of a sudden, a great sound was carried through the air-almost like wings beating-and Arthur found himself ducking for cover as the Great Dragon surged straight towards him. When the sound of wings were what he judged to be close enough, he started waving around his sword in a futile attempt to kill the beast.

"Arthur, put that stick _down" _came the infuriatingly patronizing voice of his servant, who seemed to be a few feet higher than Arthur in the air.

Arthur, not knowing know what to feel exactly, lifted his head, and turned it left and right to look at the dead bandits lying on the ground. Feeling a little foolish he gazed up at Merlin.

Grinning like an idiot, though his eyes held a hint of worry; Merlin eyes flashed gold one more time to kill off the last bandit. He then gently descended, looking his master straight in the eyes, almost pleading for him to understand. He ordered more than asked "Hop on", and Arthur did, probably because he had no idea what else he was supposed to do. His brain was buzzingwith a million different questions, and the only thing he could think was... _Dragon lord_. And then..._Magic._ He wanted answers for those questions, but Merlin's face told him that they would all be answered in a short while. And that is how, a few hours later, he came to be in a cave, puzzling over all that he now knew, and all that he never wanted to know. Questions had led to answers, and answers had led to more questions, his head spinning as he tried to take it all in. But he knew what he had to do.

"I'm going to make you Court Sorcerer" the big smile on his features as he made that statement was immediately returned by one of Merlin's ultra-huge grins, the elation written all over the servant's face.

"Thank you, thank you Arthur! You will never know what this means to me. You are truly the greatest friend I've ever had" Merlin's words were sincere and grateful, as he stared in awe at what he knew to be a great King.

"Glad to hear it" said the prince. Then he added "Now go and collect the firewood, it looked like we're staying here for tonight. After all," he teased "You're not Court Sorcerer _yet, _you know".

Muttering an affectionate "Prat", Merlin breezed out of the cave, his movements free and easy now that the weight of his huge secret had been lifted. Arthur watched him go, his eyes following him carefully.

Merlin hummed as he gathered all the firewood he had collected in his arms, thinking about how lucky he was. And to think, he'd been worried that Arthur would kill him or something! How foolish...his grin wavered for a moment, thinking back on Gaius' warning against him revealing himself to Arthur. Then he shook his head, and chided himself for worrying about trivial things on what was the best day of his life. He let the noises of the birds, the swishing of the trees, the whooshing of the wind, the sound of _magic, _woven into nature fill him, and in that moment he thought his heart would burst with pride and joy as his long, gruesome journey came to an end. He had finally done it; he had completed his destiny.

Those sounds were interrupted by the harsh swing of a sword, and the squelch that followed as it pierced his heart. Falling to the ground, the firewood scattered in front of him, a harsh, bitter voice behind him spoke.

"Looks like you've been stabbed in the back. Guess you know what it feels like now".


	15. The real reveal

**A/n I'm sorry if you all thought i had gone AWOL; but I've decided from now on I will update at least once a week. I hope you enjoy the chapter :) Oh, and thanks to josh4eva for the ideas.**

**_The real reveal_**

Merlin woke up in a cold sweat, panting and not feeling very well at all. In fact, he could probably say that he had never felt _worse. _With a moan, he rolled out of bed and untangled himself from his blanket. Breaking into a run, though he had no idea where he was going, he exited his and Gaius' chambers. It seemed his feet had decided to take him for a midnight run, though the cold air from outside did absolutely nothing to calm the panic that his nightmare had left inside of him. In what seemed to be a short while (much shorter than it actually was) he found himself running through the halls of Camelot's castle...to the room where there was a knight's of the round table meeting. He had not been expected to go, since it was being held at night, and God knew that he only had so much sleep to spare. Yet that was exactly where he was going now, and even though he had waited, prepared for this day for so long, he could not help the fear that filled him, enveloping him completely so that he could barely breathe. Gasping out his choked breaths, he pushed open the doors, knowing full well that Arthur, Gwen, and all of the knights were still in there. This was it.

"Ihavemagic" the words came out garbled, and there was no taking them back. All Merlin could do was wait for Arthur's reaction. When it came it was most definitely not the one he had been expecting.

"I know," the prince paused for a moment, letting the news sink in. Then he said in a monotone voice, "Guards, arrest him".

Merlin bowed his head as he was dragged from the room, hearing the gasps from his friends, who had previously been too shocked to say anything during the exchange between the prince and the confessed sorcerer. He quickly corrected himself;_ Ex _friends. The last thing he heard was Gwen beginning to cry, as she saw her friend being sent off to die.

Meanwhile, after Arthur had consoled the knights and Gwen, he explained to them about what was actually going on. The news brought great relief and even some hysterical laughter from the group.

Down in the dark and cold dungeons, the last of the knight's chortles echoed in Merlin's ears, and he hunched down a little bit more beneath the cobwebs, over his chains to block out the sound.

**Ok, so what the hell is going on? You'll find out in the next chapter :) Sorry this was a bit short! Next one will be longer, I promise!**


	16. Too late

**Thanks for the amazing LinaRush for the huge brain wave! Sorry for making you all wait for so long, but i will update later this week to make up for it! This chapter was inspired by my other story, a one shot called 'Far too late'. Yes, that was self advertising :)**

Arthur wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye, a small part of him starting to feel a tad worried._Eh, Merlin will get over it_, he thought, hoping for it to be true. Okay, maybe he had gone a _bit _overboard with his little joke, but the others seemed to have found it funny when they found out that he was pulling a prank on Merlin because the warlock had made him sound like a donkey. He had explained to them all about how he had found out about Merlin's secret, and about his superpowers (for some reason, the others all seemed to think it was something to do with magic! As if!). Even Gwen calmed down after he assured her Merlin was _not _going to be executed, and _no, _he wasn't going to banished either.

Arthur knew that he could take neither course of action when he saw the reactions he had gotten when Merlin was dragged out. Gwaine rounded on him, as did Lancelot(less threateningly), with Percival standing behind them. Leon, through his sense of duty, did not do anything, but made no move to stop the other three knights. And Gwen stared at him like he was a monster straight out of the depths of Hell.

With his hands up in surrender, Arthur explained the whole situation. As he walked out of the room, the first thought he had was how much he was going to enjoy Merlin's dream today. If only he knew how wrong he would be...

-**Memories dream-**

_"Merlin. Merlin, I'm scared."_

_"Don't be. It's going to be alright."_

_"Merlin..."_

His friend. The only one willing to accept him for who he was. Will. A stab.

_"There she is! Stop!"_

_"Please let me go."_

_"No one escapes from me."_

A monster trapped inside of an angel. A lake. Freya. A wound.

_"I can't do this alone."_

_"Listen to me! Oh, my son. I've seen enough in you to know that you will make me proud."_

_"No, Father. No!"_

Lost dreams. Hope and dreams, followed by despair. Balinor, who for a short while filled an empty space in Merlin's life, only to be taken away, leaving a great barren gash in his place.

With all of the bruises and the pain that had been inflicted upon him, was it any wonder that he was too numb to feel the betrayal? From the Prince, the knights, and the city of Camelot, all of which were leaving him to die. He should have seen it coming. Too late.

-**End of Mermories dream-**

The gaurds ran into Arthur's chambers when they heard their prince screaming, but found themselves stumbling as he pushed past both of them, bolting through the door at the speed of lightning as if he was on fire.

And that was what it felt like. Arthur felt like he had just been burned with the hot, scalding memories in Merlin's mind, still raw and hurting. After everything his friend had been through, it was a wonder he hadn't gone crazy, hadn't turned out like Morgana even though he would have been within his full rights to have done so.

It was even more of a wonder that he was still loyal to Arthur, a fact which made the young prince want to squirm with shame. But it wasn't like he couldn't fix this. He still had time, time to apologize and tell Merlin about how hurt he had felt, still time-

Merlin's cell was cold. And damp. And there was no Merlin in it.

Too late.

**A/N So...how do you feel about reviewing? Next chapter will be WAY funnier, I swear!**


	17. Arthur, meet dream Merlin

**A/n Thanks to all of the guests for reviewing, and for the feedback of one particular guest, who wanted some humour inside of this story. I agree, it has been a bit heart-breaking lately, so I'll try for some humour with Hologram! Merlin. ALSO: if the last bit confuses you, please check the bottom A/n.**

Arthur seemed to be doing a lot of running because of Merlin lately. After sprinting from the castle and searching everywhere in a vain attempt to find his friend, he eventually decided to go back to bed. Beads of sweat dripping down his face, he lifted himself into his warm bed, feeling guilty when he wondered where Merlin was sleeping right now. He threw his sword, which he had brought with him when he went outside (see! He wasn't completely stupid!), to the floor supposing that Merlin could clean it later if he ever came back, and was so exhausted he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**_Arthur, meet dream Merlin_**

Arthur was dreaming of fighting, which was nothing new for the prince. All around him, swords were clanging, blood was flowing (though he tried not to look at it) and men were shouting battle cries. After defeating his opponent, he turned around with his dream sword in order to chop down the other man who was idiotic enough to get near him during battle.

"Oh stop that, you ass. As if that pointy stick could defeat me!" said a disdainful voice right in front of him. _Merlin!_

Only...it wasn't him. Rather, it was the image of Merlin, flickering on and off, like a candle in front of Arthur, as if the servant was there and could speak, but not really there at all. Noticing Arthur's baffled expression; the strange version of Merlin waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh this is just my dream self, which I've made invade your dream-as pleasant as it was- from where I'm currently hiding from you and your goons. Obviously even when I'm not in Camelot I can't get a little peace from you," dream Merlin gave a long suffering sigh. "You need to stop looking for me Arthur, and to do that you need to stop wondering about me. So to put an end to your questions, here I am. I couldn't actually be there of course, wouldn't want you to accidentally swing a sword through me, would we?" dream Merlin intoned with a breezy laugh.

Raising a hand to stop the Prince, who had opened his mouth to speak, dream Merlin continued.

"Don't talk yet. You can say what you want after I'm done. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get you to stop talking once you've started?" dream Merlin joked. "Okay, first off, I'm not evil. You know how your father never misses an opportunity to tell you that 'All sorcery is evil'? WRONG. And let me tell you something, clot pole. If you think I'm evil for saving your sorry derriere over... and over...and over again, let's just say it's not really a wonder why you never had any real friends before I came." dream Merlin stopped for a minute, getting his breath back. Arthur remained silent, watching dream Merlin with a mixture of fear and awe, emotions he rarely felt, especially when it came to the person standing in front of him, even in his dreams.

"Second of all, I'm guessing you want to know why I ever stayed in Camelot, you know, with the whole magic-gets-you-executed thing. Well, to be honest, at first it was because my mother told me to. But then, well...you're not going to believe this" dream Merlin said, shooting a look at Arthur that was almost challenging. The blonde found his tongue and replied.

"Try me." It was the first time he'd spoken during their conversation, and it came out a lot more wobbly than he would have liked it to. Still, Arthur had accepted Merlin's offer to find out the truth, and he was going to get it once and for all, whether he could handle it or not.

Taking a deep breath (he was going to need it) dream Merlin began.

"Well, I met the dragon that lived beneath the castle-oh, he's not dead, by the way- and he told me you would become the Once and Future King, who would unite all of Albion. Oh, also I found out I was Emrys, King of the Druids, the most powerful warlock of all time, and that it was my destiny to help you with my magic. Apparently, our futures and destinies are intertwined with each other's. Of course, at the time, I told him he was crazy, and that you couldn't be The Once and Future King. Once and Future Prat? Yes, but King? No way. There was also even less chance of me helping you on the way to your destiny, seeing as we hated each other's guts the moment we met. But I listened to him anyway. And I did help you, even after losing so many people, so that I could fulfil this stupid destiny. Guess their deaths were for nothing" dream Merlin shrugged. "Also, I knew Morgana was evil from the very start, but do you ever listen to me? Nooo, you just go ahead and do whatever you want because I'm just a serving boy. Never mind the fact that this serving boy is the only reason you're still alive right now, let's kill him because he happens to have magic that he was born with" dream Merlin finished, waving his arms in the air like a madman, and from the way Arthur was looking at him, you'd think he was one.

Pausing for a moment to take in how Arthur was dealing with all the information, dream Merlin then proceeded to ignore the fact that the prince's face had gone purple and his eyes were as wide as saucers to declare "Well, now you know why I came. And why I left. Have a nice life, dollop head."  
And with a flash and a bang, not-Merlin was gone. Leaving Arthur to wake up rubbing his eyes in disbelief and wondering how on earth Merlin managed to be so infuriating when he wasn't even there. Then he did the only thing he knew what to do when his servant annoyed him. He screamed…

**-Break-**

"More soup, Merlin?"

"No thanks, Gaius" Merlin replied, cupping his ear when he heard a familiar frustrated scream coming from outside.

"MERLIN!" the prince's cry could be heard from miles around, but most people were used to Arthur's manservant being shouted for (it had become part of daily life), and ignored it.

"You'd better go and see what he wants, Merlin" Gaius said, not knowing what had happened earlier that day, as Merlin hadn't wanted to worry him.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Gaius. I'm sure he'll forgive me for deserting him with his unpolished armour, dirty stables, and unwashed socks after a while."

That is if he ever finds out, Merlin silently added, hiding his grin.

**A/n please review :) I really appreciate feedback! EDIT: Sorry if it's a bit confusing. Basically, Merlin is still in Camelot, but Arthur doesn't know that.****Also, Arthur's shouting 'MERLIN' because the hologram that's just something he does whenever Merlin annoys him/when he can't find Merlin/Merlin's annoyed him _and _he can't find Merlin!**


	18. Calling all readers, calling all readers

Important: okay first of all, I really hope this doesn't count as an author's note. Anyway, because of the confusion of last week's chapter, I've decided that I needed a chapter to tell you that:

No. 1: That chapter has been replaced with a better one, one with dream! Merlin.

No.2: Yes, I will probably be updating later today, but it might not be with this story. I've _have _put up a one, so i haven't been completely lazy. Feel free to look it up.

**No.3: Just to clear up some confusion, yes Merlin is still in Camelot in my story. Gaius doesn't know that he's been revealed, however, so Merlin's just going to hide out there until I work out what to do with. Again, suggestions are always welcome.**

No.4: I have a new pet cat. Why have I decided to tell you this? Because she's adorable, that's why.

No.5: I'm going to ask all of you, as well as those of you who haven't reviewed before, to review on this thing and tell me if the last chapter is okay. I will probably be taking this down later on (don't want to get in trouble).

Thanks for reading, I'm really grateful for all the support I get from you guys :)


	19. Denial

**A/n Ummm, sorry? That's all I can say to make up for this late update. In my defence, I have put up a brand new story, and two new oneshots! Feel free to check them out, and hopefully you'll forgive me when you see how much work I have put into them. Thanks to you all so much for all of the alerts reviews, faves and so on. It would REALLY mean a lot to me if this story got to 100 reviews by chapter 20. I WILL definitely be updating later this week. ALSO: I have a little present for you guys. You know how writers block really sucks? There's this website that basically FORCES you to write, and it really helped me with this chapter. Here's the free version, with dots between the w's and slashes where the dots are supposed to be: ( w.w.w/writeordie/com). Just scroll down, set your preferences, and click write! There's also the $10 version for PC and Ipad. **

**IMPORTANT: Arthur is king. I figured that if George was in this, Uther had to have been no longer around. Whatever happened to him is left to your imagination :)**

Dang that stupid warlock and his stupid ability to make me feel guilty, Arthur growled to himself when he got up that morning. His mood got even worse when he realized that it was George who had been assigned as his new personal manservant, just like the last time Merlin had left. Only this time, it didn't seem likely that Merlin would ever come back, which meant that he would be stuck with George forever. If anyone was feeling guilty, it should have been Merlin!

"No George, for the last time, I do not need you to clean the stables again. Twice is enough" answered the frustrated prince to the bootlicking servant.

Arthur supposed that he did deserve what he was getting right now. The only thing that he could do was to find Merlin, swallow his pride, and apologize like he had never apologized before_. I actually sort of miss having someone to talk to about all of this stuff_, he though absentmindedly, and with a pang he realized that he might never have anyone to talk to about these things ever again. Of course, Arthur wasn't missing Merlin. Not even a little bit. He just had to find they boy for the good of the Kingdom. What sort of a prince was he if he left his people without a ruler, simply because he died of boredom before he could have an heir?

And it looked like that was very likely to happen. If Arthur heard one more brass joke, he was going to explode.

"Hey sire, did you hear the one about the brass that just wouldn't...?"

That was it!

"Listen, you little brownnose" he growled menacingly. "I have an important job to do. You are going to cover for me until I get back. Understand?"

George nodded, frightened beyond his wits, and dropped the armour he was polishing (well, re-polishing) and scurried off to the castle. Arthur was also pretty sure that he had let out a girlish shriek along the way. He might have felt a bit bad, but there was only so much guiltiness for servants he had to spare.

Looking up at the sky determinedly, Arthur made a silent promise. To himself, and to Merlin. He was going to find that manservant, and he was going to make him muck out the stables for a week. Not because he missed him. Of course not.

-**Merlin POV-**

Merlin looked out of the window to where he saw Arthur recruiting a search party that consisted of: Gwen, Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, and Lancelot. It looked like they were going to look for him. If he wasn't careful, he might just end up on the pyre. Then again, maybe that was to be his fate ever since he had stepped foot in Camelot. Giant wildren, griffins, and temperamental she-witches he could take, but his friends? How was he going to avoid them? How was he going to get himself out of this one? Also, when he was caught, was he going to have to muck out the stables, and then burn on the pyre? So many questions...

**A/n My dream of Merlin being banished and the entire round table following him had come true…sort of. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read my profile xD**


	20. You didn't check his room!

**A/n 100 reviews! Eep, I love you guys! In a completely fan fiction writer/reviewer kind of way, of course ;D**

Merlin thought over Gaius' words when he had finally told his mentor that his secret had been revealed that evening. He had told Merlin that 'this problem could not be solved by magic', and that he would have to 'face his demons'.

"You're starting to sound like Kilgarrah now." was the young warlock's grumbled response.

_Besides_, Merlin thought, _everything can be solved by magic. I mean, remember that time i helped Gwen?...Ok, bad example. Oh well, Gaius is an old geezer anyways._

Merlin pored over his book once more, searching for a simple solution to help him solve his problem. Maybe a potion that made him invisible so that he could sneak out of Camelot? No, Merlin didn't want to live life like that, on the run from Arthur and his knights. He was not his father. Whoa, this one looked cool. The words (Hakuna Matata) literally translated to 'No worries' a potion that would help you with your problem. Currently his problem was making his friends understand the fact that he had magic and was good. Obviously Arthur was too thick to wrap his head around that fact, but perhaps he could convince Gwaine? Maybe Gwen?

_Ok, it's this one_, he decided, and with that he started making the potion, making sure first that Gaius wasn't home to tell him off for using magic to solve his personal problems. _Crazy old geezer._

When he was done making the potion, a strange green liquid, Merlin wiped away his second thoughts which were trying to warn him what an idiot he was being. What did they know?

_Bottoms up! _He thought cheerfully, swallowing the potion in three gulps. At which point Merlin's second thoughts gave up because he blacked out.

**-break-**

Meanwhile, a distraught (though he was pretending not to be) Arthur had just explained to Hunith, Merlin's mother, that her son had gone missing, and had listed all of the various places they had looked for him over the past three days. They'd checked all of Camelot, Ealdor, even gone through Cenred's lands looking for the servant.

"Erm," Hunith shifted nervously, "Did you check his room?"

Arthur stared at her.

"Arthur," Gwen asked controllably, resisting the urge to pummel him until she got an answer. "You _did _check his room, didn't you?"

Arthur face palmed. Lancelot sighed.

"Back to Camelot," said the knight, turning around wearily and climbing onto his horse.

"Camelot?" grumbled Gwaine, relaxing into his usual complaining self now that he knew his friend was okay. "I don't know about you mate, but I'm stopping off at the nearest tavern and not coming out for three days." He glanced at Gwen, who was dragging Arthur to his horse by his ear. "Make that a week."

"Ow! Ow! Owwww!" Arthur howled.

**-break-**

"Sister," said Morgana, her usual smirk replaced with an expression of worry. "It seems our plan hasn't worked."

"You mean it seems _your_ plan hasn't worked" Morgause corrected, growling at her scrying bowl, in which she had seen the whole thing. "You do realize you're going to have to be the one to fix it, right?"

"Or what?"

"Or I'm going to be celebrating becoming an only child some time in the near future."

Morgana bowed her head. "Yes, Morgause," she sighed, and then promptly stuck her tongue out at her sister when her back was turned.

"I saw that!"

**-break-**

Arthur trotted (on his horse, of course) into Camelot as fast as he could, surpassing all of the knights and Gwen. He kicked down Gaius' door, and stormed into Merlin's room, where he found the servant lying on the floor, dead to the world. Not _really _dead to the world, thank goodness, just unconscious.

_Ha! _Arthur thought. _He probably bumped into a stray wall and knocked himself out!_

His amusement was short lived,

"Arthur," Gwen said, picking up a book and glancing at a glass of vile green stuff on Merlin's table. "You might want to take a look at this."

Arthur glanced at Gwen, not sure whether or not she was going to pull his ear again, which had just stopped being red. But he edged his way over to her.

"What is it?" said Percival, taking the book from Arthur when he noticed his worried expression. After he had read the page, he then handed it to Lancelot, with an equally worried expression.

"Guys," Arthur stated. "If we want to find Merlin, we have to make this potion and drink it to get to where he is."

"But that could be anywhere," protested Elyan, frowning.

"Then we'll go any where, any place. Just as long as we _find that manservant_," Arthur snapped. He noticed everyone was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Wow Arthur, didn't know you cared," sniggered Gwaine, which earned him a dig in the ribs from Gwen.

"Gwaine, he just spent three days straight searching for him, of course he cares!" exclaimed Gwen.

Arthur flushed.

"Just make the potion, will ya?"

**-break-**

Three hours and five tries later, the potion was ready.

"Okay, is everyone still sure they want to do this?" Arthur asked the rest, who had crowded around the table that the pot of potion was on. They all nodded, and he poured them all a small amount of the potion, and lifted it up in the air.

"To finding Merlin!" he said.

And then…a wild Morgana appeared!

"Not if I find him first!" she cackled, floating in the air.

"You should really learn to knock," Lancelot told her.

"Do you mind? Kind of in the middle of an evil speech here!" Morgana huffed indignantly, stealing a bit of the potion for herself.

"Ok, ok, no need to sass me," Lancelot mumbled.

Morgana carried on, ignoring the knight.

"Oh, I'll find your precious Merlin, all right. Now, would you like him dead or alive?" she asked pleasantly.

Percival raised his hand. "Um, alive please," he answered.

Morgana cackled again. "Too bad!" she replied, downing her potion and disappearing from the room in a puff of smoke.

**The End.**

**A/n Don't worry, there will be a sequel. In fact, there's a little sample of the sequel in the next chapter.**


	21. The Merlins

**A/n A sample of the sequel, which I have adopted from **Vividpast.

**Summary:**

Morgana's spell had gone horribly wrong and they-Arthur, the knights, Gwen and Morgana herself-found themselves stuck in Merlin's mind. There, they meet different personalities and facades of Merlin they haven't even suspected he has. His memories, from extremely happy to sad and horrible ones, flashed before their eyes. They learn the secrets that this seemingly ordinary servant has. Meanwhile, Dark!Merlin has plans of his own.

**Introductions to the Merlins:**

Cheerful!Merlin smiled widely, the grin almost splitting his face in half and looking at them expectantly like a child. Arrogant!Merlin **(a.k.a Arthur!Merlin)** pointedly rolled his eyes at the group, muttering, "Slow idiots". Angsty!Merlin stared at the sword on his hands contemplatively, thinking of ways of how else to die and what he should be depressed of. Swordsman!Merlin snatched the sword away from Angsty!Merlin's grasp, glaring at the personality and telling him, "Oh, boo-hoo, stop whining!". Afraid!Merlin twitched at every other second, frantically looking around just in case Dark!Merlin jumps at him. Arrogant!Merlin stomped his foot loudly, causing Afraid!Merlin to scream and hide behind Swordsman!Merlin. Arrogant!Merlin smirked. Wise!Merlin crossed his arms, glaring at the other personalities. They all promptly shut up.

**Sample:**

"This is beyond strange and beyond my pay grade." Gwaine said.

"Shut up, Gwaine. You're not helping." Arthur replied.

"What, we can't help it? We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" Afraid!Merlin yelled again and again, running around in circles.

"No-look-" Gwen tried to calm him down.

"Hmm, it's best if we end our pitiful existence here and now." Angsty!Merlin sat down and went into a fetal position.

"I like him." Morgana pointed at Angsty!Merlin, amused.

"What? I can't die." Arrogant!Merlin scoffed. "I'm the most powerful warlock to have ever lived. Plus, I'm young and cute. I can't die."

"We're not gonna die. We'll live to see tomorrow and we're gonna save the world. We are the champions of Albion!" Cheerful!Merlin sang.

Swordsman!Merlin stabbed performed a serious of impressive moves with his sword. "I'll fight off whatever evil that comes our way."

"All of you, please SHUT UP!" Wise!Merlin rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Why am I the only smart one here?" Sighing, he turned to Arthur, Gwen, the knights and Morgana. "We need to find Emrys if you want to get out of here."

"Emrys?" Morgana's eyes widened.

"Yes, Emrys" an unfamiliar voice smirked. "Lady Morgana's destiny or doom. Fear not, Your Highness, for after I kill these bastards here, it will be the former."

Dark!Merlin stepped out of the shadows, a cruel smile on his face.

**A/n there you go! I'm open to suggestions about everything and anything. I'm currently thinking about calling it 'The Merlins'. What do you guys think?**


End file.
